My first PS4 Platinum will be for a 20 Year Old Game

Not a lot of games anymore can get me as invested as this series, and specifically, this game.

By Brandon Thissell · April 22, 2016

I bought my PS4 at launch and have purchased a nice handful of games since then. None of the new games though have been able to keep me involved long enough to pursue the Platinum Trophy.

What game has managed to make me chase the Platinum, it's a game that has been out for nearly 20 years, has a prequel game as well as sequel film and sequel game. If you haven't figured it out yet, that game would be Final Fantasy VII.

I have had a strong connection with this game since it's release, in fact, this game was a big part of my learning to read. When I was 7 I was living in California and was struggling with reading in school, in fact, I really couldn't read. I saw trailers for Final Fantasy VII, and I was in love with the style the game presented, magic based industrial Renaissance, but one of my friends had mentioned that there was a lot of reading involved. It was the perfect set of circumstances, as one of my teachers noticed my struggles with reading, such as only turning the page when everyone else was, and got me into a learning program. My want to play this game was a drive for me when I was young, being able to experience this game was going to be my reward for learning how to read. By the time I was done in the program my reading ability was above my grade.

I played through the whole game, it was the first game I ever finished without using cheats or a gameshark, and I will soon have a PS4 Platinum Trophy for it.

This game is an important item from my childhood, it has the ability to somewhat mentally and emotionally rejuvenate me, and I will always love it.

This has been a look into my childhood, I hope you enjoyed! Games can be so much to so many people, what game is important to you?

Comments 7

honestgamer Staff Apr 22, 2016

There are a few games that are extremely important to me, including Super Mario Bros. 3, Final Fantasy VI, Super Mario Kart, The Legend of Zelda, and a variety of others, but none (yet) so important to me that I have made significant changes to my life and education to accommodate that game. I would like to learn Japanese, though, to gain access to all sorts of imports.

TomatoMan Blogger Apr 23, 2016

I have no doubt I would have still learned how to read, how long it may have taken becomes the question. It just so happens the proper incentive/motivation found me at the right time.

Genj Apr 23, 2016

Looking through the trophies list, I'm pretty sure I've done all of those sans the bike mini game score in the original PlayStation release and I doubt I'll ever want to go through the tedious grinding to beat the optional Weapons again. FF7 is my 2nd favorite game ever though. I thought getting achievements an trophies was cool and interesting back in college but now that I'm working I don't have the time or interest to even bother with them. Bloodborne is the only PS4 game I bothered to platnium and it was mainly out of boredom and the fact it didn't have any grindy trophies.

overdrive Staff Apr 23, 2016

Is "Platinum" the PS version of "getting all the achievement points" for XBox? If so, the only game I've gotten all the points was Enchanted Arms...mainly because all the points were tied to main plot stuff, so if you beat the game, you got all the points. Well, I'm pretty sure I got 200/200 with a Live Arcade game, but that doesn't really count.

TomatoMan Blogger Apr 23, 2016

"Platinum" is awarded for getting all other trophies in the game.

When I was younger I never got knights of the round, the gold chocobo, or beat ruby weapon(never appeared in my game, a known glitch now). The PS4 re-release smoothed out the polygons nicely, and made other minor improvements.

It was fun to go through the game with a few personal goals, and the trophies are a nice pick-me-up/incentive to revisit the game as well in my opinion.

overdrive Staff Apr 23, 2016

I think when I went through FF VII about 3-4 times in a year, the Emerald and Ruby Weapons were about the only things I didn't do. It was a major pain to get the gold chocobo, but I did accomplish that! Probably the last FF game I bothered to get anywhere near close to completely mastering.

Nightfire May 2, 2016

You know, when I look back on my childhood, I think the fact that I played PC games from a very early age probably did a ton of good for my reading (and writing) abilities.

I owned an Apple IIe when I was around 6-7 years old, handed down from my brother, and that thing certainly didn't hand-hold you the same way a gaming console did. Most of the games were also for adults rather than children, and required lots of reading (Ultima series, anyone?).

And yet, at the time, there was an assumption about that playing too many video games made you stupid. I would argue that the opposite is true. Video games require lots of reading, some require math, and they also train your brain to solve problems, quicken your reflexes and develop hand-eye coordination that is tangibly useful for mechanical skills in the real world (such as driving a car or operating machinery).

Video games, as a medium, also have tremendous potential for education and enrichment. Part of it depends on which games you choose to play, of course, but there are plenty of games out there that incorporate real research that can be learned from (anybody ever heard of Crusader Kings II? You practically need a degree in history in order to play that thing!).